Insole for shoes



A. J. JOHNSON. INSOLE FOR SHOES (No Model.)

No. 307,117. Patented Oct. 28, 1884.

Inventor."

Jltiesi:

N, PETERS. (halo-lithograph" Washington 0. c1

TATES UwiTnn PATENT Trice.

INSOLE FO R SHOES.

SPIESEFIGATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 307,117, dated October28, 1884.

Application filed August 25, 1884. (Xe model.)

To aZZ whom, it 11mg} concern..- 7

' Be it known that I, ALMTERON J. JonNsoN, of Rochester, in the countyof Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Insoles for Shoes,which improvement is fully set forth inthe following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.

It is desirable to make the fore part of the inner sole of a shoe, orthat part that is under the ball and toes of the foot, flexible and easyto yield to a pressure of the foot, and at the same time have the backpart of the same, or that part under the instep and heel, firm andsolid, to assist to hold the shoe in shape. A shoe having the inner solethus constituted is easy and comfortable on the foot, and easy to wall:in, while it wears longer than a shoe with a more rigid insole. Theobject of my invention is to produce such an inner sole for a gshoe-that is to say, an inner sole having a flexible fore part made,preferably, of equal sheets of thin leather and textile fabrics, solidlyunited with waterproof cement, and a firmer back part made of thickleather, to assist in supporting the upper of the shoe, at the sides andheel thereof.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view of my improved inner solefor shoes, the surface shown being that within the shoe or next the footof the wearer; Fig. 2, a view of the reverse side of the sole; and Fig.3, a vertical longitudinal section of the same, sectioned along thedotted line in Fig. 1, and viewed as indicated by the arrow.

Referring to the parts, A is a solid piece of leather of suificientthickness and firmness to stay the sides of the shoe, and assist to holdit in shape, reaching from thehcel to a point under the instep or middleof the feet. This piece of leather is of uniform thickness, exceptin gat the forward end, where it is tapered or skived to an edge, as shownin Fig. 2, for the purpose of lapping onto the parts forming the forepart of the sole.

B is the fore part of the sole, made up of different parts cementedtogether, the said fore part being tapered at its rear end and cementedto the part A, as shown, to form a continuous and complete insole, thetwo parts A and R lapping upon each other at the tapering parts.

The upper part, a, of the fore part, B, of the insole I prefer to makeof strong waterproof canvas or cotton duck, or other textile fabric,cemented to a thin sheet or shaving of leather or india-rnbber, b, by alayer of waterproof cement, c. In making up the fore part, B, of thesole in this manner a very thin sheet of leather or india-rubber, b, canbe used, while the firm hard twist duck a, gives strength to the part,and prevents the stitches with which the sole and upper are heldtogether from pulling or cutting through; which is sometimes the casewhen leather alone is used. The duck is water-proof of itself, and Iprefer to use a water-proof cement at 0 between the parts a and b-such,for instance, as pure para cement rendering the fore part of the sole,or the part that comes in contact with the ground while upon the foot ofthe wearer, thoroughly water-proof. Leather of itself is in a degreeabsorptive-that is to say, it receives and conveys water or dampness bycapillary attraetion-on which account a purely leather sole of a shoeadmits of dampness being conveyed from the ground to the feet, which isone objection I wish to overcome in my invention herein set forth.

An insole thus formed is thinner than one made wholly of leather in theusual way, is very pliable, and yields readily to the pressure of thefoot. The edge is soft, bends readily outside of the row of stitches toany strain or pull upon the upper-leather of the shoe, and will not outsaid upper-leather, or cause it to break or crack along the line whereit comes in contact with the edge of the insole, which frequently occurswhen a more rigid insole is used.

In producing this improved insole for shoes I first cement a thicknessor layer of cotton duck or other fabric onto a thin sheet or shaving ofleather of a size out of which to form the fore part of the insole; thenattach to this, in the same plane therewith, preferably with cement, astrip of thicker leather sufficiently large out of which to form theback part of the insole; then cut or trim this compound piece thuscomposed to the form of the sole required with a die or otherwise.

In constructing a shoe with this improved insole the upper-leather islasted upon thcinsole in the usual manner, after which the outer soleand heel are secured in place in the usual way.

I do not claim, broadly, an insole for a shoe made in part of leatherand part of textile fabrics cemented or otherwisejoined together, suchhaving been before known and described.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is An insole for shoes, consisting of aback or line, and rigidly secured to the heel part A 20 at the middle ofthe foot, to form a continuous insole, substantially as shown anddescribed.

A. J. JoHNsoN;

\Vit-nesses:

E. B. THITMORE, M. D. PHILLIPS.

